Commons governance - Revision history

Eleutherious: Course no longer cited as a source: views attributed to Logos, plain facts stated plainly

2026-11-04T23:55:13Z

Course no longer cited as a source: views attributed to Logos, plain facts stated plainly

Eleutherious: Plainer prose: fewer quotes, glosses folded in, claims attributed

2026-11-04T23:31:26Z

Plainer prose: fewer quotes, glosses folded in, claims attributed

Eleutherious: Second check fixes, plus material from the Circles handbook, Circle reports, LAN and Logos docs, source-checked

2026-11-04T21:10:50Z

Second check fixes, plus material from the Circles handbook, Circle reports, LAN and Logos docs, source-checked

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:10, 4 November 2026
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	=== Ostrom's design principles ===		=== Ostrom's design principles ===
	~~Both cases~~ appear in the work of the political scientist Elinor Ostrom. In her 1990 book ''Governing the Commons'' she proposed eight principles that contribute to the success of self-governed commons. ~~The book won her a share of~~ the 2009 Nobel ~~prize~~. A chapter of the book is titled "Analyzing Institutional Failures and Fragilities".		Cases matching both descriptions appear in the work of the political scientist Elinor Ostrom. In her 1990 book ''Governing the Commons'' she proposed eight principles that contribute to the success of self-governed commons. She shared the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. A chapter of the book is titled "Analyzing Institutional Failures and Fragilities".

	The P2P Foundation summarises the eight design principles as:		The P2P Foundation summarises the eight design principles as:
Line 31:		Line 31:
	== How it applies to Logos ==		== How it applies to Logos ==
	The course applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. It says a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. In its words: "That is the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow."		The course applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. It says a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. In its words: "That is the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow."

			The Logos Circles handbook carries related rules. The [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter\|Circles Charter]] says "Participants join an action, not a discussion." After the first issue, "the Circle decides as a group what issue to tackle next." The handbook's Issue Buckets page asks a steward to begin with one visible win and then "gradually connect with other Circles to tackle bigger issues". The [[Start a Circle/Roadmap for Logos Circles\|roadmap]] adopts a "Snowflake model for Circles: small autonomous groups with distributed leadership." The Kano Circle drew a similar lesson from its own work. It cut a school hygiene plan from six schools to four and concluded that "focusing on fewer sites is better than spreading the Circle too thin". See [[Playbook/Kano: Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages]].

			=== Kampala: a ledger for savings cooperatives ===
			In Uganda, savings and credit cooperatives, known as SACCOs, hold the money of ordinary members. The [[Circles/Kampala\|Kampala Circle]] is building a ledger for them on the [[Logos Blockchain]]. Its September 2026 report named "Trust gaps between SACCO members and leadership" and "Manual and paper-based financial records" as problems. Its October 2026 report cited a reported case of a SACCO holding the savings of 34 deceased members over inheritance disputes.

			The Circle's design keeps the money off the chain. In its words, "The program is a record, not a custodian." Members' money stays in mobile money and bank accounts. The chain records deposits, approvals and expenses with evidence. A supervisory committee account sits alongside the committee that approves, and the report states: "Oversight is split from approval." Approval rules can be set for each SACCO. The report explains that "Institutional, community and trader SACCOs govern themselves differently, so one chain-wide rule would be wrong." Each member's balance stays private, while each SACCO's totals stay public and verifiable.

			At the time of the October report the project had no pilot SACCO. Finding one was listed as an open question. See [[Issue 2/Every Shilling Accounted For]].

			=== A planned savings fund ===
			A section of the Circles Charter headed "Future Direction (Charter V2)" sets out plans that are not yet in force. It says "Every Circle will operate a local savings and mutual aid fund." It adds officer roles, including a treasurer and a warden. Withdrawals from the fund require the treasurer's "dual authorisation with the Steward". A warden "manages disputes where appropriate and escalates serious issues when necessary."

	== Examples ==		== Examples ==
	* '''Törbel, Switzerland.''' Törbel is a village in the Upper Valais that Ostrom visited in the 1980s. Its first written entries on the division of land date back to 1224. On 1 February 1483 its members set up an association whose rules for governing the commons are still in effect, according to a study of Ostrom's work by the legal scholar Grzegorz Blicharz.		* '''Törbel, Switzerland.''' Törbel is a village in the Upper Valais that Ostrom visited in the 1980s. Its first written entries on the division of land date back to 1224. On 1 February 1483 its members set up an association whose rules for governing the commons are still in effect, according to a study of Ostrom's work by the legal scholar Grzegorz Blicharz.
	* '''Huertas of eastern Spain.''' Ostrom's sample included the irrigation communities in the huertas of Valencia, Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Blicharz dates the written laws of the huertas to 29 May 1435. ~~The~~ Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia~~, listed by UNESCO in 2009 as intangible cultural heritage together with~~ the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia, has eight elected administrators ~~representing~~ 11,691 members from nine communities. UNESCO says its members are elected democratically and settle disputes orally.		* '''Huertas of eastern Spain.''' Ostrom's sample included the irrigation communities in the huertas of Valencia, Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Blicharz dates the written laws of the huertas to 29 May 1435. UNESCO listed the Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia and the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia as intangible cultural heritage in 2009. The Water Tribunal has eight elected administrators. They represent 11,691 members from nine communities. UNESCO says its members are elected democratically and settle disputes orally.

	== See also ==		== See also ==
Line 41:		Line 53:
	* [[Winnable issue]]		* [[Winnable issue]]
	* [[Cherán]]		* [[Cherán]]
			* [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter]]
			* [[Circles/Kampala]]

	== Takes on this idea ==		== Takes on this idea ==
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	* [https://ideas.repec.org/a/seh/journl/y2011i53maprilp13-42.html Samuel Garrido, Las instituciones de riego en la España del este. Una reflexión a la luz de la obra de Elinor Ostrom], Historia Agraria 53, April 2011		* [https://ideas.repec.org/a/seh/journl/y2011i53maprilp13-42.html Samuel Garrido, Las instituciones de riego en la España del este. Una reflexión a la luz de la obra de Elinor Ostrom], Historia Agraria 53, April 2011
	* [https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlcrest/api/core/bitstreams/0e4e3e4a-627a-431f-b0dd-047c144d0a44/content Grzegorz J. Blicharz, Governing the Commons in the Era of Decodification and Self-Responsible Societies], Digital Library of the Commons, Indiana University		* [https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlcrest/api/core/bitstreams/0e4e3e4a-627a-431f-b0dd-047c144d0a44/content Grzegorz J. Blicharz, Governing the Commons in the Era of Decodification and Self-Responsible Societies], Digital Library of the Commons, Indiana University
			* [https://circles.logos.co/readme/about-logos-circles/circles-charter Circles Charter], Logos Circles handbook, read 2026-11-04
			* [https://circles.logos.co/readme/for-circle-stewards/section-1-organising-circles-around-local-action/circles-civil-society-issue-buckets-pilot Circles Civil Society Issue Buckets (Pilot)], Logos Circles handbook, read 2026-11-04
			* [https://circles.logos.co/readme/about-logos-circles/roadmap-for-logos-circles Roadmap for Logos Circles], Logos Circles handbook, read 2026-11-04
			* [https://circles.logos.co/parallel-society-playbook/hlt-healthcare/building-lasting-hygiene-habits-in-schools-and-orphanages Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages], Parallel Society Playbook, read 2026-11-04
			* [https://forum.logos.co/t/1962 Logos Circle Kampala Report, September 2026], Logos Forum, 28 September 2026
			* [https://forum.logos.co/t/2279 Logos Circle Kampala Report, October 2026], Logos Forum, 26 October 2026
			* Local Area Network, Issue 2, Logos, October 2026 ("Every Shilling Accounted For", p. 8)
	* [https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/irrigators-tribunals-of-the-spanish-mediterranean-coast-the-council-of-wise-men-of-the-plain-of-murcia-and-the-water-tribunal-of-the-plain-of-valencia-00171 Irrigators' tribunals of the Spanish Mediterranean coast], UNESCO, 2009		* [https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/irrigators-tribunals-of-the-spanish-mediterranean-coast-the-council-of-wise-men-of-the-plain-of-murcia-and-the-water-tribunal-of-the-plain-of-valencia-00171 Irrigators' tribunals of the Spanish Mediterranean coast], UNESCO, 2009

	{{Page status\|Outline}}		{{Page status\|Outline}}
	[[Category:Ideas]]		[[Category:Ideas]]

Eleutherious: New article from the Building a Parallel Society course, source-checked

2026-11-04T19:23:09Z

New article from the Building a Parallel Society course, source-checked

New page

'''Commons governance''' is the management of a shared resource, such as a pasture, a forest or a water supply, by the people who use it, under rules they set and enforce themselves. The Logos activist course ''Building a Parallel Society'' uses it as evidence that ordinary people can run lasting institutions with no one above them. It is a building block of the [[Parallel society|parallel society]] that [[Logos]] promotes.

== The basics ==
The course calls commons governance the "prior claim" on which the idea of a parallel society rests: that ordinary people can run institutions that last. It cites two cases:
* Alpine villages that have run their common pastures under their own rules for centuries, one of them under a written charter since the 1200s.
* Spanish farming communities that have shared irrigation water among thousands of families for over five hundred years.

The course says these cases have been studied closely, including failures. It names "fisheries where no rule could stick" and "water systems that tried to fix everything at once". From this record it draws four build rules:
# '''Membership.''' A group knows who is in and who is not. The course says rules without a membership boundary do not last.
# '''Scale.''' A group starts small and wins something real before it grows.
# '''Disputes.''' A group settles disputes in its own arena, with people it recognises.
# '''Nesting.''' Small groups nest into larger ones, never in one leap.
The course names no researcher.

=== Ostrom's design principles ===
Both cases appear in the work of the political scientist Elinor Ostrom. In her 1990 book ''Governing the Commons'' she proposed eight principles that contribute to the success of self-governed commons. The book won her a share of the 2009 Nobel prize. A chapter of the book is titled "Analyzing Institutional Failures and Fragilities".

The P2P Foundation summarises the eight design principles as:
# Clearly defined boundaries, which define who has access to the resource.
# Rules for use and provision that are tailored to local conditions.
# Collective-choice arrangements that let most users take part in decisions.
# Effective monitoring by people accountable to the users.
# Graduated sanctions for those who break the rules.
# Conflict-resolution mechanisms that are cheap and quick to reach.
# Recognition of the community's right to organise by higher authorities.
# Nested enterprises, with small local units inside larger layers.

=== Criticism ===
Samuel Garrido examined the Spanish cases in the journal Historia Agraria in 2011. He wrote that Ostrom's information on them "came from works that defended their democratic character", views with which "most Spanish experts disagree". He tested whether her eight principles were present in the huertas and found that "sometimes they were not".

== How it applies to Logos ==
The course applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. It says a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. In its words: "That is the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow."

== Examples ==
* '''Törbel, Switzerland.''' Törbel is a village in the Upper Valais that Ostrom visited in the 1980s. Its first written entries on the division of land date back to 1224. On 1 February 1483 its members set up an association whose rules for governing the commons are still in effect, according to a study of Ostrom's work by the legal scholar Grzegorz Blicharz.
* '''Huertas of eastern Spain.''' Ostrom's sample included the irrigation communities in the huertas of Valencia, Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Blicharz dates the written laws of the huertas to 29 May 1435. The Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia, listed by UNESCO in 2009 as intangible cultural heritage together with the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia, has eight elected administrators representing 11,691 members from nine communities. UNESCO says its members are elected democratically and settle disputes orally.

== See also ==
* [[Parallel society]]
* [[Circles]]
* [[Winnable issue]]
* [[Cherán]]

== Takes on this idea ==
None yet. See [[Takes]].

== Sources ==
* Building a Parallel Society, Logos activist course, 2026
* [https://lenews.ch/2016/12/13/the-swiss-commune-that-inspired-a-nobel-prize-winning-theory-on-communal-ownership/ The Swiss commune that inspired a Nobel prize-winning theory on communal ownership], Le News, 13 December 2016
* [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/governing-the-commons/A8BB63BC4A1433A50A3FB92EDBBB97D5 Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons], Cambridge University Press
* [https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Elinor_Ostrom’s_Eight_Commons_Governance_Design_Principles Elinor Ostrom's Eight Commons Governance Design Principles], P2P Foundation Wiki, 2020
* [https://ke.news.prod.rtd.asu.edu/2016/10/07/learning-share-principles-governing-commons Learning how to share: principles for governing the commons], Arizona State University, 7 October 2016
* [https://ideas.repec.org/a/seh/journl/y2011i53maprilp13-42.html Samuel Garrido, Las instituciones de riego en la España del este. Una reflexión a la luz de la obra de Elinor Ostrom], Historia Agraria 53, April 2011
* [https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlcrest/api/core/bitstreams/0e4e3e4a-627a-431f-b0dd-047c144d0a44/content Grzegorz J. Blicharz, Governing the Commons in the Era of Decodification and Self-Responsible Societies], Digital Library of the Commons, Indiana University
* [https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/irrigators-tribunals-of-the-spanish-mediterranean-coast-the-council-of-wise-men-of-the-plain-of-murcia-and-the-water-tribunal-of-the-plain-of-valencia-00171 Irrigators' tribunals of the Spanish Mediterranean coast], UNESCO, 2009

{{Page status|Outline}}
[[Category:Ideas]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:55, 4 November 2026
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	'''Commons governance''' is the management of a shared resource, such as a pasture, a forest or a water supply, by the people who use it, under rules they set and enforce themselves. ~~The~~ Logos ~~activist course ''Building a Parallel Society''~~ treats it as evidence that ordinary people can run lasting institutions with no one above them. It is a building block of the [[Parallel society\|parallel society]] that ~~[[Logos]]~~ promotes.		'''Commons governance''' is the management of a shared resource, such as a pasture, a forest or a water supply, by the people who use it, under rules they set and enforce themselves. [[Logos]] treats it as evidence that ordinary people can run lasting institutions with no one above them. It is a building block of the [[Parallel society\|parallel society]] that it promotes.

	== The basics ==		== The basics ==
	~~The course~~ calls commons governance the "prior claim" on which the idea of a parallel society rests: that ordinary people can run institutions that last. It cites two cases:		Logos calls commons governance the "prior claim" on which the idea of a parallel society rests: that ordinary people can run institutions that last. It cites two cases:
	* Alpine villages that have run their common pastures under their own rules for centuries, one of them under a written charter since the 1200s.		* Alpine villages that have run their common pastures under their own rules for centuries, one of them under a written charter since the 1200s.
	* Spanish farming communities that have shared irrigation water among thousands of families for over five hundred years.		* Spanish farming communities that have shared irrigation water among thousands of families for over five hundred years.

	~~The course~~ notes that these cases have been studied closely, failures included, such as fisheries where no rule could stick and water systems that tried to fix everything at once. From this record, without naming a researcher, it draws four build rules:		It notes that these cases have been studied closely, failures included, such as fisheries where no rule could stick and water systems that tried to fix everything at once. From this record, without naming a researcher, it draws four build rules:
	# '''Membership.''' A group knows who is in and who is not. In the ~~course's~~ view, rules without a membership boundary do not last.		# '''Membership.''' A group knows who is in and who is not. In the Logos view, rules without a membership boundary do not last.
	# '''Scale.''' A group starts small and wins something real before it grows.		# '''Scale.''' A group starts small and wins something real before it grows.
	# '''Disputes.''' A group settles disputes in its own arena, with people it recognises.		# '''Disputes.''' A group settles disputes in its own arena, with people it recognises.
Line 29:		Line 29:

	== How it applies to Logos ==		== How it applies to Logos ==
	~~The course~~ applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. In its account a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. It sums this up as the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow.		Logos applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. In its account a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. It sums this up as the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow.

	The Logos Circles handbook carries related rules. Under the [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter\|Circles Charter]], participants join an action rather than a discussion, and after the first issue the Circle decides as a group what to tackle next. The handbook's Issue Buckets page asks a steward to begin with one visible win and then gradually connect with other Circles to tackle bigger issues. The [[Start a Circle/Roadmap for Logos Circles\|roadmap]] adopts for Circles a snowflake model of small autonomous groups with distributed leadership. The Kano Circle drew a similar lesson from its own work when it cut a school hygiene plan from six schools to four. It concluded that focusing on fewer sites is better than spreading the Circle too thin. See [[Playbook/Kano: Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages]].		The Logos Circles handbook carries related rules. Under the [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter\|Circles Charter]], participants join an action rather than a discussion, and after the first issue the Circle decides as a group what to tackle next. The handbook's Issue Buckets page asks a steward to begin with one visible win and then gradually connect with other Circles to tackle bigger issues. The [[Start a Circle/Roadmap for Logos Circles\|roadmap]] adopts for Circles a snowflake model of small autonomous groups with distributed leadership. The Kano Circle drew a similar lesson from its own work when it cut a school hygiene plan from six schools to four. It concluded that focusing on fewer sites is better than spreading the Circle too thin. See [[Playbook/Kano: Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages]].
Line 59:		Line 59:

	== Sources ==		== Sources ==
	* ~~Building a Parallel Society,~~ Logos ~~activist course~~, 2026		* Logos Circles training material, 2026
	* [https://lenews.ch/2016/12/13/the-swiss-commune-that-inspired-a-nobel-prize-winning-theory-on-communal-ownership/ The Swiss commune that inspired a Nobel prize-winning theory on communal ownership], Le News, 13 December 2016		* [https://lenews.ch/2016/12/13/the-swiss-commune-that-inspired-a-nobel-prize-winning-theory-on-communal-ownership/ The Swiss commune that inspired a Nobel prize-winning theory on communal ownership], Le News, 13 December 2016
	* [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/governing-the-commons/A8BB63BC4A1433A50A3FB92EDBBB97D5 Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons], Cambridge University Press		* [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/governing-the-commons/A8BB63BC4A1433A50A3FB92EDBBB97D5 Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons], Cambridge University Press

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:31, 4 November 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''Commons governance''' is the management of a shared resource, such as a pasture, a forest or a water supply, by the people who use it, under rules they set and enforce themselves. The Logos activist course ''Building a Parallel Society'' ~~uses~~ it as evidence that ordinary people can run lasting institutions with no one above them. It is a building block of the [[Parallel society\|parallel society]] that [[Logos]] promotes.		'''Commons governance''' is the management of a shared resource, such as a pasture, a forest or a water supply, by the people who use it, under rules they set and enforce themselves. The Logos activist course ''Building a Parallel Society'' treats it as evidence that ordinary people can run lasting institutions with no one above them. It is a building block of the [[Parallel society\|parallel society]] that [[Logos]] promotes.

	== The basics ==		== The basics ==
Line 6:		Line 6:
	* Spanish farming communities that have shared irrigation water among thousands of families for over five hundred years.		* Spanish farming communities that have shared irrigation water among thousands of families for over five hundred years.

	The course ~~says~~ these cases have been studied closely, ~~including~~ failures~~. It names "~~fisheries where no rule could stick" and "water systems that tried to fix everything at once". From this record it draws four build rules:		The course notes that these cases have been studied closely, failures included, such as fisheries where no rule could stick and water systems that tried to fix everything at once. From this record, without naming a researcher, it draws four build rules:
	# '''Membership.''' A group knows who is in and who is not. ~~The~~ course ~~says~~ rules without a membership boundary do not last.		# '''Membership.''' A group knows who is in and who is not. In the course's view, rules without a membership boundary do not last.
	# '''Scale.''' A group starts small and wins something real before it grows.		# '''Scale.''' A group starts small and wins something real before it grows.
	# '''Disputes.''' A group settles disputes in its own arena, with people it recognises.		# '''Disputes.''' A group settles disputes in its own arena, with people it recognises.
	# '''Nesting.''' Small groups nest into larger ones, never in one leap.		# '''Nesting.''' Small groups nest into larger ones, never in one leap.
	~~The course names no researcher.~~

	=== Ostrom's design principles ===		=== Ostrom's design principles ===
	Cases matching both descriptions appear in the work of the political scientist Elinor Ostrom. In her 1990 book ''Governing the Commons'' she proposed eight principles that contribute to the success of self-governed commons~~. She shared the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences~~. A chapter of the book is titled "Analyzing Institutional Failures and Fragilities".		Cases matching both descriptions appear in the work of the political scientist Elinor Ostrom, who shared the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. In her 1990 book ''Governing the Commons'' she proposed eight principles that contribute to the success of self-governed commons. A chapter of the book is titled "Analyzing Institutional Failures and Fragilities".

	The P2P Foundation summarises the eight design principles as:		The P2P Foundation summarises the eight design principles as follows:
	# Clearly defined boundaries, which define who has access to the resource.		# Clearly defined boundaries, which define who has access to the resource.
	# Rules for use and provision that are tailored to local conditions.		# Rules for use and provision that are tailored to local conditions.
Line 27:		Line 26:

	=== Criticism ===		=== Criticism ===
	Samuel Garrido examined the Spanish cases in the journal Historia Agraria in 2011. He ~~wrote~~ that Ostrom's information on them "came from works that defended their democratic character", ~~views~~ with which "most Spanish experts disagree". He tested whether her eight principles were present in the huertas ~~and~~ found that "sometimes they were not".		Samuel Garrido examined the Spanish cases in the journal Historia Agraria in 2011. He argued that Ostrom's information on them came from works that defended their democratic character, a view with which "most Spanish experts disagree". When he tested whether her eight principles were present in the huertas, he found that sometimes they were not.

	== How it applies to Logos ==		== How it applies to Logos ==
	The course applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. ~~It says~~ a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. ~~In its words: "That is~~ the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow."		The course applies the build rules to [[Circles]]. In its account a Circle starts with one need, one activation day and one community, and grows into a working institution. It sums this up as the build rules at work: know who is in, start small, win something real, then grow.

	The Logos Circles handbook carries related rules. ~~The~~ [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter\|Circles Charter]] ~~says "Participants~~ join an action~~, not~~ a discussion~~." After~~ the first issue~~, "~~the Circle decides as a group what ~~issue~~ to tackle next." The handbook's Issue Buckets page asks a steward to begin with one visible win and then "gradually connect with other Circles to tackle bigger issues". The [[Start a Circle/Roadmap for Logos Circles\|roadmap]] adopts a ~~"Snowflake~~ model ~~for Circles:~~ small autonomous groups with distributed leadership." The Kano Circle drew a similar lesson from its own work~~. It~~ cut a school hygiene plan from six schools to four ~~and~~ concluded that "focusing on fewer sites is better than spreading the Circle too thin". See [[Playbook/Kano: Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages]].		The Logos Circles handbook carries related rules. Under the [[Start a Circle/Circles Charter\|Circles Charter]], participants join an action rather than a discussion, and after the first issue the Circle decides as a group what to tackle next. The handbook's Issue Buckets page asks a steward to begin with one visible win and then gradually connect with other Circles to tackle bigger issues. The [[Start a Circle/Roadmap for Logos Circles\|roadmap]] adopts for Circles a snowflake model of small autonomous groups with distributed leadership. The Kano Circle drew a similar lesson from its own work when it cut a school hygiene plan from six schools to four. It concluded that focusing on fewer sites is better than spreading the Circle too thin. See [[Playbook/Kano: Building lasting hygiene habits in schools and orphanages]].

	=== Kampala: a ledger for savings cooperatives ===		=== Kampala: a ledger for savings cooperatives ===
	In Uganda, savings and credit cooperatives, known as SACCOs, hold the money of ordinary members. The [[Circles/Kampala\|Kampala Circle]] is building a ledger for them on the [[Logos Blockchain]]. Its September 2026 report named ~~"Trust~~ gaps between SACCO members and leadership~~" and "Manual~~ and paper-based financial records" as problems. Its October 2026 report cited a reported case of a SACCO holding the savings of 34 deceased members over inheritance disputes.		In Uganda, savings and credit cooperatives, known as SACCOs, hold the money of ordinary members. The [[Circles/Kampala\|Kampala Circle]] is building a ledger for them on the [[Logos Blockchain]]. Its September 2026 report named trust gaps between SACCO members and leadership, and manual, paper-based financial records, as problems. Its October 2026 report cited a reported case of a SACCO holding the savings of 34 deceased members over inheritance disputes.

	The ~~Circle's~~ design keeps the money off the chain~~. In its words,~~ "The program is a record, not a custodian." Members' money stays in mobile money and bank accounts~~. The~~ chain records deposits, approvals and expenses with evidence. A supervisory committee account sits alongside the committee that approves, ~~and the report states: "Oversight~~ is split from approval." Approval rules can be set for each SACCO. The report ~~explains~~ that ~~"Institutional~~, community and trader SACCOs govern themselves differently, so one chain-wide rule would be wrong." Each member's balance stays private, while each SACCO's totals stay public and verifiable.		The October report sets out a design that keeps the money off the chain: "The program is a record, not a custodian." Members' money stays in mobile money and bank accounts, and the chain records deposits, approvals and expenses with evidence. A supervisory committee account sits alongside the committee that approves, so oversight is split from approval. Approval rules can be set for each SACCO. The report argues that institutional, community and trader SACCOs govern themselves differently, so one chain-wide rule would be wrong. Each member's balance stays private, while each SACCO's totals stay public and verifiable.

	At the time of the October report the project had no pilot SACCO~~. Finding~~ one was listed as an open question. See [[Issue 2/Every Shilling Accounted For]].		At the time of the October report the project had no pilot SACCO, and finding one was listed as an open question. See [[Issue 2/Every Shilling Accounted For]].

	=== A planned savings fund ===		=== A planned savings fund ===
	A section of the Circles Charter headed "Future Direction (Charter V2)" sets out plans that are not yet in force. ~~It says "Every~~ Circle will operate a local savings and mutual aid fund~~." It adds~~ officer roles~~, including~~ a treasurer and a warden. Withdrawals from the fund require the treasurer~~'s "dual authorisation with~~ the Steward". A warden ~~"manages~~ disputes where appropriate and ~~escalates~~ serious issues when necessary."		A section of the Circles Charter headed "Future Direction (Charter V2)" sets out plans that are not yet in force. Under it, every Circle will operate a local savings and mutual aid fund, with officer roles that include a treasurer and a warden. Withdrawals from the fund would require dual authorisation by the treasurer and the Steward. The warden would manage disputes where appropriate and escalate serious issues when necessary.

	== Examples ==		== Examples ==
	* '''Törbel, Switzerland.''' Törbel is a village in the Upper Valais that Ostrom visited in the 1980s. Its first written entries on the division of land date back to 1224. On 1 February 1483 its members set up an association whose rules for governing the commons are still in effect, according to a study of Ostrom's work by the legal scholar Grzegorz Blicharz.		* '''Törbel, Switzerland.''' Törbel is a village in the Upper Valais that Ostrom visited in the 1980s. Its first written entries on the division of land date back to 1224. On 1 February 1483 its members set up an association whose rules for governing the commons are still in effect, according to a study of Ostrom's work by the legal scholar Grzegorz Blicharz.
	* '''Huertas of eastern Spain.''' Ostrom's sample included the irrigation communities in the huertas of Valencia, Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Blicharz dates the written laws of the huertas to 29 May 1435. UNESCO listed the Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia and the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia as intangible cultural heritage ~~in 2009~~. The Water Tribunal ~~has~~ eight elected administrators~~. They~~ represent 11,691 members from nine communities. ~~UNESCO says its~~ members are elected democratically and settle disputes orally.		* '''Huertas of eastern Spain.''' Ostrom's sample included the irrigation communities in the huertas of Valencia, Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Blicharz dates the written laws of the huertas to 29 May 1435. In 2009 UNESCO listed the Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia and the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia as intangible cultural heritage. The Water Tribunal's eight elected administrators represent 11,691 members from nine communities. Its members are elected democratically and settle disputes orally.

	== See also ==		== See also ==